Hysteria
by grangersheart
Summary: Six years after the battle of Hogwarts, Hermione opened a retreat for magical creatures of all kind to receive psychological treatment. When Malfoy shows up on her door she is pushed into the unknown as she begins to coax six years of dark secrets from his mind and heal his soul. Little does she know, she will soon need him as much as he needs her. DracoxHermione


_So you might have read this already, I had posted it previously, but I wasn't satisfied and it was sloppy and I was rushing it. I didn't get what I wanted to say onto paper. So I've added a lot more detail and a lot more explanation, extra scenes, and a few other things. Please let me know what you think. And thank you for reading._ -**grangersheart**

* * *

**Hysteria**

**Chapter 1**

Hermione sat in her office twirling her quill over and over as she read over the patient file.

_**Maelie**__ (Last name unknown)_

_Blood status: half wood (?) nymph, half witch (half-breed)_

_Found stranded in the forest_

_Symptoms: Anxiety, depression, at times hysterical and incoherent, self-harm._

A knock came at her door and she flicked her wand at the lock. A young girl entered the room staring at the ground; she had to be only around four and a half feet tall. An apprentice healer behind her gently nudged her in.

"Thank you Conner, you're excused" Hermione said smiling. She gestured for the young girl to sit as the door shut with a soft click behind her making her jump.

"I'm Head Healer Hermione Granger, you are safe here and you have nothing to worry about," Hermione spoke softly and gently as she always has with her delicate patients, "You will get your own room here, you can decorate it however you like, we don't have machines or monitors, your room will feel like home and we will feed you and clothe you, I do not want you to think of yourself as a prisoner here, we want to help you so that you can leave here and be safe."

The young girl finally looked up and Hermione was struck by her beauty. She had a soft thin face; her pale skin had no blemishes, not even a single freckle. Her ears arched up and where pointed at the tips. She had long, wavy brown hair and her eyes where the color of moss.

She looked terrified.

"What's your last name?" Hermione asked gently.

"I don't have one." The girl's accent was odd. Hermione had never heard it before; then again she had never met a nymph/witch.

"You do not remember?" Hermione asked as she began to make notes in her chart, the scratching of her quill filling the silence as the young girl fidgeted in her seat.

"Nymph's aren't given last names Miss…" She was looking at her hands when Hermione glanced up, her voice was almost melodic and soothing, yet so very quiet, "My mother was wishing I could have hers but my father did not wish it…she died shortly after giving birth to me, my father was wishing I stayed with him to live the life of his kind and I was not to learn witch magic."

Hermione studied the young girl and racked her brain, her name sounded so familiar. She glanced back down at her chart and saw the large question mark next to her blood status.

"Maelie…" Hermione murmured and the girl looked up with a puzzled expression, "You are of the Meliae nymphs, the nymphs of the Ash Trees?"

The young girl looked impressed for a brief moment and nodded her head. Hermione scratched out _wood nymph_, feeling it insulting to the young girl and scribbled _Meliae Nymph_ instead.

"My father was the leader of what remained of us…" She whispered, "We guard the Ash trees of the forest and live in peace with the bow truckles…They help us."

"Why are you not with your family?" Hermione asked gently.

The young girl gave a sudden stifled sob and shook her head, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, making the color of her irises even more shocking.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" Hermione reached across the table and pressed a box of tissues close to the girl who stared at it briefly confused.

"No," She said suddenly looking up, "I will tell you, what this _monster_ did to us."

Hermione said nothing; she waited her quill hovering above the parchment. The little nymph sucked in a deep breath and began,

"My people where attacked by a man in a dark cloak, he said he needed wood from our trees to craft a wand…We do not just give our Ash wood to anyone, he was no wand maker and he would not reveal his face. My father told him to leave and the man became furious…"

Hermione's insides tightened and she wrote and knew this story would not end peacefully.

"He pulled a jar from his cloak…" Maelie continued, "And it glowed so brightly…We did not know what it was but the man threw it at one of the trees and it smashed releasing a serpent beast made of fire…it spread so quickly and it was unlike any fire I had ever seen…"

Hermione's quill paused and she took a sharp intake of breath, "Fiend Fire…" she whispered.

"It burned everything…" Maelie continued tears now gushing down her lovely face. Hermione swore they sparkled. "I tried to run and get as many as I could away from the fire but they were all taken…I was the only one fast enough and I turned and the fire serpent was coming for me and I was so scared and then it stopped and I was surrounded by water…"

"You did magic…" Hermione said quietly. Maelie looked stunned for a moment.

"But I haven't a wand…"

"Some don't need wands, you may have used your mother's witch powers, or perhaps you where gifted with powers of your fathers…Elves can perform magic without wands too."

"I wish I could have saved them…" Maelie said, her face finally crumbling and she began to let out horrible heart wrenching sobs.

Hermione flicked her wand and a silvery otter burst from it and disappeared through the wall. She then got up and walked around to the hysterical girl and placed her hand on her head.

"It was not your fault…" She whispered stroking the girl's soft locks, "And you are safe now…we will protect you…"

Conner came bursting into the room and hurried over to Maelie and helped her to stand.

"Take her to her room…" Hermione said, "Give her a dreamless sleep potion and let her rest, I will check on her tomorrow."

Conner nodded and steered the tiny girl away who would not pull her hands from her face. Hermione slumped down in her chair her heart aching and so many questions swirling in her mind.

Who was the man? Why had he attacked innocent creatures? He had to have been a wizard if he needed wood to make a wand…How did he get Fiend Fire into a jar?

But the world had been at peace for six years and this bothered Hermione more than anything.

* * *

Hermione had her own flat inside of the clinic. The ministry tried to fight it with everything they had when they had first agreed to let her open this place, saying she was not safe within the same walls of so many unstable creatures. She told them she wanted to be closer to her patients and live among them so that they could trust her. She guaranteed them her door would be locked at all times. Not that she found that necessary, her patients loved and trusted her completely, she believed with all her heart they would never harm her.

They had built her room a little larger than the other patients, towards the back of the clinic, behind a portrait of an angelic woman playing the harp. She had a small kitchenette in the corner, a tiny bathroom near where her bed stood. A few comfy arm chairs and a love seat sat near a small stone fireplace.

Her desk was near the only window in the flat. She had a beautiful view of the pond and forest behind the clinic. Her tiny little retreat was nestled deep in the country of Ireland and its location was guarded with the upmost secrecy by the ministry.

She had pictures of her family and friends all over her room and books piled up in bookshelves, on her side table, on her counter.

It was home.

She looked at the time and sighed, she would need some rest tonight, and she had early appointments in the morning.

She fixed herself a cup of tea before crawling into her pajamas and grabbing a book.

It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, her dreams swirling with gray and the smell of rain.

* * *

_Help me…_

Hermione sat bolt right out of her bed. She shook her head, her brown curls flying all around her face, blinking rapidly. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room she looked around frantically. Rain pattered against the window and lightening cracked illuminating her room for a brief moment making the hairs on her neck stand up.

"Hello…?" She called into the darkness.

No one answered her back. She flicked her bedside lamp on, snatched up her wand and pulled her robe over her pajamas.

It had been so clear, like a whisper in her ear. But as she searched her small flat she found nothing. Not one single sign of a break in or that there had been anyone in her room. Crookshanks sat in the arm chair by her desk staring at her with his big golden eyes, curious.

"It's okay Crooks, I think I had a bad dream…" She murmured relaxing a bit.

Then suddenly there was a frantic banging and shouts coming from outside.

She bolted to her door and flew out into the hall towards the front of the clinic. She could make out three hunched shapes through the frosted glass windows.

"Help, Hermione! Let us in!" She recognized that voice instantly; it was her best friend Harry Potter.

She tapped her wand against the door and the heavy bolts gave a groan and lifted. She wrenched the heavy metal door open to find Harry, soaking wet, holding up someone unconscious, next to him stood Ron Weasley, her former boyfriend. Both where Aurors for the Ministry of Magic and she was quite confused what brought them all the way out here to the St. Mungo's Countryside Retreat.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here at this time of night?" She shouted over the thunder.

"We've got him Hermione; we've been tracking him for months but…" Harry was gasping out as she suddenly remembered the young man he was holding up. White blond hair covered in mud and bits of leaves.

"He's a bit loopy is what Harry is trying to say," Ron finished, Harry shot him a wary look, "The nutter was found just north of here tumbling through the bloody mud and rambling to himself and decided to bring him here."

Ron grabbed the young man's face and brought it up, Hermione let out a squeak.

Draco Malfoy.

His eyes opened suddenly, a flash of blue-gray, he stared at her wide eyed and confused, reminding Hermione of a tiny child.

"Help me…" He whispered before falling unconscious once more.

* * *

She directed them to an empty room on the first floor, a few curious heads poking from their doors to see what all the commotion was about.

"It's all right everyone, you can go back to sleep." Hermione said with a forced smile at each one. They all retreated and she flung open the door to the room furthest down the hall, located almost directly across from her hidden quarters.

"Set him on the bed…" Hermione said urgently summoning bandages, wash clothes, and potion ingredients.

"Why is he unconscious?" She asked as she began to mash up some herbs in a small bowl. She pointed her wand at the small basin on the bedside table and murmured _"Augimente" _before adding the herbs to the bowl.

"I stunned him, from behind, I think I might of made it a little too strong." Ron said with a grin that made Hermione bristle. She collected herself quickly and ordered them into the kitchens.

"No way, we're staying here to protect you." Ron said furiously glowering at her. She paid him no mind but simply slipped Draco's wand from his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"I'll be fine, I need to speak with both of you in the kitchens, please wait there for me."

Harry and Ron looked at her with concern but she was already muttering incantations and paying them no mind. They turned from the room and shut the door with a soft click.

Draco stirred slightly at her touch as she brushed his bangs back. She saw a painful looking cut on his forehead she immediately sealed and began to nurse the several bruises that had blossomed around his jaw.

She wondered what had happened to him, he felt cold and weak and he was so thin, dark circles where visible beneath his eyes.

She turned her attention back to the small basin of water and dipped a small rag into it.

When she turned back to him she gave a start and almost screamed; his eyes where open just slightly, hooded and unfocused, staring at her.

He didn't say a word of make any attempt to move. She wondered if he even realized what was going on. As she studied him she felt a slight bubble of anger rise in her stomach. Although she knew he was innocent, put into unfortunate circumstances, he still tortured her in school and his father was a wicked man. They had left the battle at Hogwarts and contributed nothing to it.

She pushed her old childhood memories down and resurfaced her healer's mind. She slowly, without peeling her eyes from his, began to gently wipe the grime and mud from his face. His breathing was steady and he closed his eyes and allowed her to continue cleaning him up.

It took almost twenty minutes until she was satisfied. She could have used a _scourgify_ spell and had it over with quickly, but she felt it soothed the patients to run the warm wash clothes over their face and arms, she even added a soothing lavender scent to calm them.

She went to the small dresser the corner of the room and pulled pajamas and extra blankets out. Turning back to him she flushed, she had never had a problem helping other patients dress no matter their orientation but she always had Conner with her and this was someone she knew.

She quickly flicked her wand and her silver otter burst forth and she reached her finger tips out to touch him. He felt warm beneath her fingers and she smiled and whispered "_bring Conner to me"_

The otter flashed off leaving the room dimly lit once more.

She sat on the edge of the bed to wait for Conner. Glancing over at Draco she saw he was sleeping with a twisted look of pain on his face. His hands fluttered every so often and his breath would hitch unexpectedly. She wondered what he dreamed about.

She reached out ever so slightly to touch his fingers to soothe him. His eyes instantly flew open the second her skin made contact with his. He snatched her wrist and she felt a bubble of panic rise in her throat wanting to scream but unable to find her voice.

"Don't touch me…" His voice came out hoarse and low and his grasp instantly released and his eyes closed and he was once again gone.

Conner walked into the room at that moment looking at Hermione's face wild with fresh fear and rushed to her side.

"Miss Granger?" He asked taking her hand which was shaking slightly.

"I am fine Conner I'm just tired, I need to speak to Harry and Ron now in the kitchens, please dress this young man in the pajamas I've laid out and make sure he has enough blankets…" She stood up swiftly; Conner still gazed at her with concern but nodded his head and began his work.

She walked quickly from the room looking back only once to see Draco's head tilted towards her, lips slightly parted breathing deeply, the light of the lantern on his bedside table illuminating his face reminding her of a divine being.

_Yes and I'm the queen of bloody England._

* * *

Hermione's hands fumbled with the kettle as Harry and Ron dried off at the table behind her. They were in the small cafeteria the patients ate their meals in.

"Do you need help Hermione?" Harry asked with concern in his voice. He knew it had been a lot to bring the man who practically tortured Hermione all through school to her clinic.

"No, no Harry I'm fine," She sighed finally getting the stove lit and placing the kettle firmly on the fire, "I'm just in a bit of shock…I thought he was innocent, I was at his trial, you vouched for him, why has he been in hiding...why have you been looking for him?"

"He is innocent Hermione but you know the new law, any death eater found innocent or not must submit to psychological treatment and evaluation or go to Azkaban." Harry explained taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "He ran."

"I didn't know that…that he ran." She turned around and faced her friends. It had been seven years since the war had ended and nothing seemed to have changed between the three of them. Ron wasn't looking at her; he hardly ever did after what happened. She had forgiven him a long time ago for leaving her for Lavender Brown and she loved Lav. She was one of her best friends. She wished he would let his remorse go too.

"What exactly did you bring him here for?" Hermione asked crossing her arms.

"I want you to treat him," Harry said simply, "I trust you are the best in this case and you have done miracles, look at Lockhart, back to his usual self….well sort of."

She could deny that. After working for St. Mungos for two years Hermione had raised enough money to open a safe haven where magical creatures of all breeds could come to her and she would care for them no questions asked. She had a spectacular gift of doing what no other could do and she had discovered a way to heal her patients and allow them to live a normal life, through a combination of magic and muggle psychology, no matter how far they had gone.

"I don't understand, the ministry will send him straight to Azkaban for fleeing wont they?" She asked. She turned around and began to pour tea with her eye brows knitted tightly together.

"We were hoping we could convince the ministry to give him a second chance, I don't think he deserves to rot in prison…no matter how much of a tosser he was in school." Harry stated while Ron scoffed next to him.

She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. She wasn't sure if she could handle trying to treat that arrogant bastard. He'd probably call her names and shout at her and be as stubborn as he was in school. She wasn't quite sure she trusted him, he had cursed her friends in school, attempted to assassinate one of the greatest men she knew…

Then again…those frightened eyes; she couldn't get them out of her head.

"All right, I'll give him a chance…" She whispered, "But if he puts one toe out of-"

"We'll come as quick as we can and drag his arse to Azkaban" Ron said with a grin, she smiled back at him.

She walked the boys to the front door.

"You'll have to walk about a mile out of the gates to apparate," Hermione had made many enchantments on her retreat to ensure the safety of her patients.

To any muggle passing by in the country side it looked like an old run down cottage with a caved in roof. To magical folk it looked like a small stone mansion with flowers blooming all around, a small circle of trees provided shade nearby, the forest bloomed behind it and the pond just behind the residence was filled with brightly colored fish and lily pads that glowed under the light of the moon.

"Yes we know," Harry said turning around to give her a hug.

"Give Ginny my love and Lavender as well." Hermione hugged Ron and he returned it awkwardly patting her on the shoulder.

She watched as they set off down the trail until they disappeared into the trees. Hermione looked back at her clinic and sighed, wrapping her robe more tightly around her.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

_*So sorry about the re-vamping, again. I really wanted to add more detail and really make this into what I am imagining in my head, it was hard to get out at first and I thought my start was sloppy. So please read and let me know what you think so far. I will begin re-vamping chapter two tomorrow. Thank you!_ -**grangersheart**


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